As an American classical crossover singer, Jackie Evancho gained widespread recognition at an early age due to her impressive vocal skills, which seemed more advanced than her years. Just aged thirteen, she has broken countless Billboard records and has released gold and platinum albums already.
Initial Career
Born on 9th April, 2000, Jacqueline "Jackie" Evancho’s interest in music developed after watching the film version of the musical "Phantom of the Opera". She got the DVD of the musical for her eighth birthday after which she started singing those songs. Her unique voice and talent first came to the forefront, however, when she participated in her first talent show and placed second, behind an opera singer.
Her success in the competition made her focus more on music and she started taking singing lessons to improve. Requests started coming in from friends and family asking if she could perform in functions and local churches. Around the same time she started a YouTube channel and stared getting more attention.
In 2009, she entered the 15th annual USA World Showcase Talent Competition held in Las Vegas and again got second position. She entered other competitions and talent shows too and started getting offers from promoters who had seen her YouTube channel. She sang "Ave Maria" in conductor and composer Tim Janis’s television special and made various other appearances on singing shows and competitions.
America’s Got Talent
Jackie Evancho became a part of the competition after placing first in the 2010 edition of its YouTube competition. She received worldwide critical acclaim for her quarter final performance of the show in which she sang "O mio babbino caro". Receiving a standing ovation, she was called the "Star" of the show by Judge Howie Mandel. There were some concerns regarding whether her performance was real and not lip-synched, but she dispelled all doubts when she did an impromptu voice exercise proving it really was her.
Due to the show Evancho came into the eyes of the main stream music industry as well as the audience, as almost sixteen million viewers watched her performances. Despite being only ten, she made it to the final round of the competition and lost out on first place, coming second. But her career was all set to take off after that as she immediately signed a record deal with Columbia Studios. The rest, as they say, is history.
Achievements
Evancho’s debut into the music industry, with the release of her EP, O Holy Night, made her the best selling debut artist of 2010. She also became the youngest artist ever to make it to the top ten and as the record went platinum, she became the youngest solo artist to have a certified platinum record.
Her first album, "Dream With Me" was released in 2011 and debuted at number two on the Billboard charts. She also became the youngest person to break into the top five in the UK music charts and was ranked the top classical artist for 2011 by Billboard. All in all since 2009, she has released three Billboard Top 200 debut singles and five albums, including a gold album and a platinum album. Considering she is just 13, that is a staggering achievement.